State cross country meets likely to stay at Holmdel
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

When the rumor first surfaced that the NJSIAA may not be holding it cross country championships at Holmdel Park, it floored cross country fans.

The park has been synonymous with New Jersey cross country for almost 30 years, and has become the standard by which to judge all runners. Holmdel enjoys a national reputation as one of the toughest and fairest cross country courses in the nation. Everyone knows the significance of running a sub 16:00 5K if you are a boy, or dipping under 19:00 on the girls' side. It will put you in very elite company, and your name will join a list that includes the best harriers this state has ever produced. College coaches are very aware of what those times mean as well.

For another very selfish reason, there was cause for panic at the thought that the state would be running its championships elsewhere. The course records of Paul VI's Jason DiJoseph (15:16) and J.P. Steven's (now North Edison) Janet Smith (17:35), which date back to the 1980s, are revered and have become mythical over the years. Yet there was a chance that in 2006, both could fall. That's because the 2005 Meet of Champions winners, Colts Neck's Craig Forys (15:34) and Southern Regional's Danielle Tauro (17:52), are both returning. Forys' mark is the fourth best ever run at the park, while Tauro's ranks No. 3. The once unthinkable is within their grasp.

It would have been a shame if they were deprived the opportunity to etch their names in the record book and take their place as perhaps the best the state has seen.

It appears very likely now that Forys and Tauro will get the chance to defend their MOC titles and take a crack at the course record. Don Danser and NJSIAA officials have met with Monmouth County Park System representatives, and Danser said he was "very optimistic" about this year.

"The meeting was very cordial," said Danser. "Both sides saw the other's point of view."

Park public information officer Laura Kirkpatrick said that the park was never looking to kick cross country out of Holmdel Park.

"We are very proud to host cross country," she said.

Some of the issues were, of course, financial. Holmdel Park is getting less funding from the state, and one result of that was the raising of the fee it charges the NJSIAA for the use of the park. It was a significant increase (150 percent), and Danser said had it not been for the tradition that has been established at Holmdel Park, the NJSIAA would have said goodbye.

There is the cost of police, extra park rangers and cleanup that go into running the meet.

Another issue was the impact that the sport has had on the park in recent years, namely cars parking on the grass. At the State Group Championships, where 15 races are contested during the day, as many as 10,000 people will be at the park. That's a lot of cars to park and people walking around the grounds in addition to those who are visitors to the park.

One solution brought up in the meeting was to park cars away from the park and have a bus service to shuttle spectators to the park. Danser said he is currently looking into bus services that would provide a shuttle service from parking lots around Holmdel High School. The bus service would address the issue of parked cars.

To help save money, Danser said he is looking to switch the Central Jersey State Sectional meet from Holmdel to Thompson Park in Jamesburg, which hosts the Greater Middlesex Conference meet every year.

That would take the number of times the state used the park down to two, and according to Danser that could allow cars to be parked in the park at the Meet of Champions, which has just the two races, the boys' and girls' state championships.

The Shore Coaches Invitational and Monmouth County Championships, which are not NJSIAA events and are held at Holmdel Park, will not be impacted this year. Those meets will still be held at the park.

Cross country may not be a revenue maker that say football or basketball are through their playoffs, but let's hope that for the sake of the sport, and future harriers, that finances won't become the issue. The state championships belong at Holmdel Park, and likewise, Holmdel Park is more than just a runners' park. Cooler heads seem to be prevailing, and let's hope that cross country can remain at Holmdel Park beyond this year and for many, many more.

Cross county runners, both present and future, deserve it.